{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\cocoartf1504\cocoasubrtf830
{\fonttbl\f0\fswiss\fcharset0 ArialMT;}
{\colortbl;\red255\green255\blue255;\red0\green0\blue0;\red0\green0\blue255;\red69\green145\blue184;
}
{\*\expandedcolortbl;;\csgenericrgb\c0\c0\c0;\csgenericrgb\c0\c0\c100000;\csgenericrgb\c27059\c56863\c72157;
}
\margl1440\margr1440\vieww9820\viewh14560\viewkind0
\deftab720
\pard\pardeftab720\ri5\pardirnatural\qc\partightenfactor0
\f0\b\fs24 \cf2 California Has Some of Highest Temperatures Ever Recorded, amid Heat Wave
\b0 \
\pard\pardeftab720\fi355\ri5\pardirnatural\qc\partightenfactor0
\cf2 by Paloma Esquivel, Louis Sahagun and Gary Robbins\
\pard\pardeftab720\fi355\ri5\pardirnatural\partightenfactor0
\cf2 June 21, 2017 \'96 The heat wave hitting Southern California this week is one for the record books.\
Temperatures topped 100 in the valleys and 120 in the low desert. Death Valley hit 127 \'97 7\'b0F shy of the hottest temperature ever recorded on the planet. Temperatures on June 20 were the 2nd highest ever recorded in Palm Springs and Thermal.\
The\'a0National Weather Service\'a0said temperatures in some low desert locations were \'93among the highest ever recorded.\'94\
\pard\pardeftab720\ri5\pardirnatural\qc\partightenfactor0
\i \cf2 All-Time Record in San Diego County\
\pard\pardeftab720\fi355\ri5\pardirnatural\partightenfactor0
\i0 \cf2 The temperature hit 124\'b0 on Tuesday in Ocotillo Wells\'a0\'97 the highest reading ever recorded in San Diego County, according to the\'a0National Weather Service.\
Forecasters said the reading was 2\'b0 above the previous high of 122, which was recorded in\'a0Borrego Springs\'a0on June 20, 2016. That reading had tied the previous record high for the county, a figure also set in Borrego Springs.\
\'93The desert has 2 seasons \'97 hot and hotter,\'94 said Mark Moede, a weather service forecaster. \'93But today, it was\'a0
\i \cf2 hottest
\i0 \cf2 .\'94\
\pard\pardeftab720\ri5\pardirnatural\qc\partightenfactor0
\i \cf2 Misery in Palm Springs Area\
\pard\pardeftab720\fi355\ri5\pardirnatural\partightenfactor0
\i0 \cf2 Palm Springs tied a record high of 122\'b0 and Thermal broke the record for the day at 122\'b0.\
Grape pickers in the Coachella Valley started before dawn, but by 9 a.m., the temperature had topped 100\'b0. Francis Resendiz, 36, wore a hat and handkerchiefs over her neck and face. She had a duffel bag of frozen electrolyte drinks that would melt throughout her shift. \'93
\i \cf2 Tomen agua,\'94
\i0 \cf2 \'a0shouted a forewoman. Drink water. Resendiz found some shade under the canopies of grape vines, but the leaves trapped humidity. "It starts to feel like you're suffocating," she said.\
Redding (111\'b0F), Red Bluff (110), Stockton (108) and Modesto (109) set record high temperatures for June 20.\
\pard\pardeftab720\ri5\pardirnatural\qc\partightenfactor0
\i \cf2 The Devil in Death Valley\
\pard\pardeftab720\fi355\ri5\pardirnatural\partightenfactor0
\i0 \cf2 Several daily records also fell in Northern California.\
Then there was Death Valley, which hit 127.\
At 7 a.m. in Death Valley, customers, short-order cooks and waitresses were already sweating inside the Wrangler Restaurant in Furnace Creek, where the air-conditioning system had broken down. With the heat from the ovens adding to the misery, they tried to cool down by wrapping wet towels around their necks and guzzling ice water. But a manager had to pull the plug on this mess and close. \'93We can\'92t put customers through this \'97 it\'92s just too hot,\'94 John Kukreja said.\
Facing a full week of temperatures above 120\'b0, officials at the national park\'92s headquarters \'97 190 feet below sea level \'97 are bracing for heat-related illness and injuries.\
Earlier this month, a woman was transported to the hospital with 3rd-degree burns on her feet. \'93She\'92d lost her sandals in Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes and walked about a half-mile on the hot sand,\'94 Abby Wines, a spokeswoman for the park, said in a statement.\
Ground temperatures exceeding 200\'b0 have been measured in Death Valley. \'93To put that in perspective,\'94 Wines said, \'93160\'b0 is sufficient to cook meat.\'94\
\pard\pardeftab720\ri5\pardirnatural\qc\partightenfactor0
\i \cf2 Preparing for the Heat\
\pard\pardeftab720\fi355\ri5\pardirnatural\partightenfactor0
\i0 \cf2 The intense heat is part of a system commonly referred to as the 4 Corners High, a high-pressure system that settles over the desert Southwest near the 4 Corners area, where Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado meet.\
In anticipation of the heat, Los Angeles County posted a list of cooling centers online, while operators of California\'92s electrical grid issued their first flex alert of the year on Tuesday.\
The California Independent System Operator urged energy consumers to scale back power consumption over the next 2 days or risk outages.\
\pard\pardeftab720\fi355\ri5\pardirnatural\qc\partightenfactor0
\cf2 www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-record-heat-20170621-story.html}